Change of heart
by cheerful-angel57
Summary: [COMPLETE.] SetoXSerenity with a little bit of MokubaXSerenity! Seto meets a girl called Ellie and decides to get engaged to her because of her rich father's company. But what happens if Serenity Wheeler unknowingly gets in the way of his plans?
1. Chapter I

**Change of heart**

* * *

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

A/N: Okay... I altered the gang's ages, and they have already finished schooling except for Mokuba. And I altered Serenity's appearance in here for a reason. Some of the ideas came from a movie called "Sabrina" so if some of the ideas in here seem familiar, well... you'll know the reason. And the title... hehehe! Remind you of a certain Yu-Gi-Oh card? Hahaha!

Okay that's all...

But before the story begins, let's start with a little summary...

Summary: Yup, SetoXSerenity with a little bit of MokubaXSerenity! Seto encounters a girl through his younger brother called Ellie Hiragamo and finds out that she's actually the daughter of a man who holds a major corp.! If his marrying her means that he gets more money, you can bet that Kaiba is in for it!!! But his plans change when he meets a certain someone, and little does he know that she is about to change his life forever...

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"ARGH!!!"

"Is everything alright, Mr. Kaiba?" His secretary rushed in right away.

"This damn computer is so slow! Crap it!!!" shouted Kaiba, standing up and slamming his fists on his office table.

"Calm down, Mr. Kaiba. If you ask me, I think you're getting stressed." His secretary, Ms. Takakura, said quickly.

"Perhaps so..." said Kaiba.

Suddenly a loud knock was heard from the outside.

"Come in!" Kaiba shouted.

"Hey," said his younger brother, Mokuba.

He was now a tall, lanky teenager in high school.

Kaiba's expression softened when he saw his brother. His secretary exited the room and Mokuba walked across the room to Seto's desk.

"Hey Seto, I found a girl." He said, sitting opposite his brother.

"You found a what????" Kaiba suddenly exclaimed.

"A girl." Said Mokuba, giving him a small smile.

Kaiba rummaged around his desk before he answered Mokuba's statement.

"Mokuba," he said, still fixing the things on his desk, "You should have learned by now that girls are an inferior species so why don't you just give up on it?"

"Well, bro, for one thing," said Mokuba, standing up, "I want to date her, you know. You're such a workaholic that you don't give a single fiber for girls. I mean, get a life, Seto. Practically everyone is looking for the perfect someone in his or her life. So why don't you just get a look at my girl and see if you approve of her. Take a break from work and let me handle the corp. for a while." Mokuba said.

"Of course..." said Kaiba, and Mokuba rejoiced inwardly.

"...NOT." Kaiba continued.

"Oh, come on, give the corp. a rest! I mean, we got a lot of money now! And by the way, did I mention... I think you'll like the girl. The name's Ellie Hiragamo." Said Mokuba, walking away slowly, knowing that he would triumph.

"Wait, Mokuba! You say that this girl is really the daughter of Vince Hiragamo?" Kaiba said.

"W-ell..." said Mokuba, looking at Kaiba with his arms crossed. "You can go meet her if I can run the corp. for a little while." He said, in cruel blackmail.

"Fine, whatever. I mean, what bad can you do, bro." Seto said, standing up.

Mokuba smiled. Things were finally going his way.

And the reason behind why Seto was so eager to meet this girl (Just in case you didn't read the summary portion) was because she was the daughter of Vince Hiragamo, one of his rivals and one of the most powerful men in Japan. Mr. Hiragamo owned a large company selling products. He was hoping to get their companies to merge and he would get lots of money out of this opportunity.

"I know what you're thinking, Seto, now why don't you just go along and meet her at this place. I scheduled a meeting with her there." Mokuba said, rushing his brother out of the office.

* * *

LATER ON... 

A little while later, Kaiba arrived at a local restaurant. It specialized, however, in ice cream and was one of the biggest and most convenient stores in Japan, since it belonged to Hiragamo.

Kaiba rode his limo, and when he got there it was very crowded.

'Crapping hell, how will I be able to find this Ellie Hiragamo?' he thought furiously, looking at his expensive watch.

He walked straight up to the counter.

"Ah, you must be Seto Kaiba." Said the lady at the counter. She was smiling at him.

He took this as a bad sign. "Seems like I'm famous around here." He said sarcastically.

"Hey, look, I didn't mean to offend you. Listen, I recognized you because Mokuba's told me all about you." She said.

He looked at her nametag, and realized that he shouldn't have done that. Then it hit him. Mokuba was not interested in her! He was matching Seto and her up!

Nevertheless, this girl was really pretty.

"Um, good afternoon." He said. "Ellie Hiragamo right?"

"Yes, nice to finally meet you, Seto. I'll take your order and I'll join you in that table over there. And you don't need to pay," she said, smiling. He was about to take out his wallet. "It's on the house."

* * *

Mokuba, meanwhile, was having a hell of a time. Too many people were barging in the office. Practically the only one who hasn't come in was his brother's secretary. His brother should install an electronic buzzer at the door!

He was busy on paperwork, absently stamping the signature lines with his brother's official stamp.

Suddenly Kaiba came bursting in. "I like her, Mokuba. You can date her." He said.

"Actually bro, you should have figured out now that I want YOU and her to date!!!" he said and left the office without a word.

Kaiba rolled his eyes and focused once more on his paperwork.

"Mr. Kaiba, a Miss Serenity Wheeler." Her secretary said through the phone speaker.

"Send her in." he said distractedly.

He knew who she was, the sister of his bastard enemy, Joey Wheeler. Their family was unfortunate, so her mother was working for him as a maid at his home. Nevertheless, he and his brother Mokuba had known Serenity for ages.

The teenage girl timidly opened the door.

Her short curly hair bobbed behind her, and glasses were on the bridge of her nose. (A/N: Like I said, I changed her appearance for a reason.)

"Um, Mr. Kaiba." She said quietly. "My mother is sending me to Paris, France and I won't come back for like a year. I hope you won't mind." She said.

She had served him as a maid, too, but she wasn't a full-time maid.

"Yes." He said distractedly.

"Okay." She said, closing the door behind her.

He started recalling the times when Joey had been enemies with him, and they oftenly fought. That was before his mother and his sister had become his employees, which probably made Kaiba the winner all through out all their fights in the previous years.

He gave a contented smile and went back to work.

* * *

_After a year of dating..._

Kaiba stopped his limo in front of the hospital where Ms. Hiragamo worked. He was holding a bouquet of flowers as he came in.

"In which room is Ms. Ellie Hiragamo?" Kaiba asked the receptionist, who looked like she ate a cow.

She giggled. "You are Seto Kaiba right? The multi millionaire."

"I don't have time to flirt with receptionists." He snapped at the fat receptionist. This statement silenced the receptionist and she shut up, knowing that Seto Kaiba often had mood swings. Though, she resented his statement greatly.

"She's in room 545, sir." She said quickly.

He glared at her rudely, annoyed at her for wasting his time. He strode quickly to the elevator.

Soon he was at Floor 5. He walked quickly towards room 545 and opened the door hastily.

A woman was screaming, some surgeons were surrounding her. Obviously he had walked into a maternity ward. The surgeons were giving him dirty looks. "I'm looking for Ms. Ellie Hiragamo." He said, returning a glare with his cold blue eyes.

A woman ripped off her surgical mask and came towards Seto, pushing him outside.

"Yes, Seto? I'm afraid you came at a very bad time." She said, a frown on her face.

"I came here for a special reason." He said, handing her the bouquet of flowers.

Her face turned back to its pretty state. Ellie was not disfigured. She had long blonde hair that stretched up to her shoulders, and big green eyes. "Yeah? What's that?" she asked her boyfriend.

Kaiba was lucky that there were no people to witness what he was about to do.

He knelt down before her, taking a box out of his pocket.

Ellie gave a gasp of surprise. "Ellie Hiragamo, will you be my wife?" he asked gruffly.

"Yes, of course!" she shouted, giving Seto a hug. Seto despised hugs, except one from Mokuba.

Ellie couldn't believe that this man, who had never once said that he loved her, was proposing to her, in this very hospital!

She was the happiest woman alive!

* * *

"Absolutely, Seto! I like it." Said Mokuba.

"I am only doing this for the merge of our companies. But she's okay overall." Kaiba said gruffly.

Mokuba laughed silently. Perhaps it was true that his older brother was in love with his present girlfriend. "But honestly Seto, I don't like your using her." Mokuba remarked, getting into his sports car. He was off to a tennis match with his friends at the clubhouse near their home.

"I don't care whether I'm using her, Mokuba. I like her and all but she is really not my type. I just want the best for our company. And of course, I'm doing this all for us." Kaiba said. He had just told Mokuba about his engagement with Ellie Hiragamo.

He would do anything to get their companies to merge-even if marriage was standing in his way to his goal.

* * *

A/N: Phew... so much for the first chapter! Greedy, money-hungry Kaiba... (Frowns) Anyways, I hope you like it and please leave a review!! :) thanks! 


	2. Chapter II

**Chapter 2**

Disclaimers: I do not own Yu-gi-Oh!

A/N: Am back! Hehehe thanks for the nice reviews!!! :)

* * *

Serenity walked home in a cheerful state even if she had just left a country she loved. Japan would always be her hometown, but she would always miss Paris, France.

She made an immediate phone call to her brother, who was expecting her call once she had arrived in Japan.

"_Hello, Wheeler here." _Said the voice on the phone.

"JOEY! Is that really you?" she exclaimed, glad to hear her brother's voice again after one whole year.

She was really lucky that her mother had made so much money from her job as the Kaibas' maid, and she was sent to Paris to get a lively education. Joey had utterly refused his mother's offer, so she had gone instead.

"_Serenity!!! I'm glad you're back!!! Where can I meet you?" _her brother shouted excitedly through the phone connection.

"You don't need to meet me Joey, I want to surprise you. Anyway, I am heading back home after I get a little drink." She said.

She made her way into the coffee shop in the airport. She had made plans that she would catch a cab after she had her drink. Her dream life was starting to unfold-she would finally get to resign her former job at the Kaiba Mansion. She was finally going to get another job!

* * *

**At the Kaiba Mansion...**

"Miss Serenity Wheeler has sent in her resignation, sir." His secretary informed him.

"Okay." He said, clearly distracted.

"Hello, Sir? Are you paying attention?"

"Yes, Miss Wheeler just sent in her resignation. I know," he said.

Then the meaning sank in. THE DOG'S SISTER WAS RESIGNING?????

"WHAT! Wheeler is resigning? But then she has no job??" he exclaimed.

"She has a job, sir."

"Okay, whatever. Send her thirty dollars." He said dismissively.

* * *

Serenity was so glad to be home. She had missed her brother Joey so much, after all the staying in Paris.

She and her brother had exchanged a hug. "God, Serenity! You've changed so much!" Joey shouted once his sister came to the door.

It was true. She had rid herself of glasses, and her hair was straight, a reddish brown shade. It fell loosely to her slim waist. Overall, she looked beautiful.

"Hey, Serenity, did you hear that there is a party at the Kaiba Mansion later on? And Mokuba sent us an invitation." Joey informed her.

Serenity had always liked Mokuba, as well as Joey. He was kinder to them than his older brother Seto.

"Okay, Joey, but I have some souvenirs for you first." She said, handing him a camera, and several other items. "Whoah, Serenity! This must have cost you a lot of bucks!" he said, gazing in awe at the items she had bought for him.

"You like them?" she said delightedly. It was definitely home sweet home.

* * *

**PARTY TIME...**

Mokuba was having a good time. He had planned this party just for his brother's engagement and invited loads of people.

Just then, he spied his friend Serenity Wheeler, a girl he knew practically his whole life. "Serenity! You look... beautiful." Mokuba said, coming up to her. He was dazzled by her sudden appearance. She was wearing a beautiful midnight blue dress that matched the darkened sky, her auburn hair falling gracefully from a ponytail. Her brown eyes shined in the street lamp's light, framing her pretty face.

"Thanks, Mokuba." She said softly.

"Where's Joey?" Mokuba asked.

"Oh, he's over there." She pointed at her blonde-haired brother, who was drinking champagne nearby.

"Oh, I see. Want to dance?" he asked shyly.

"Okay," she agreed.

He led her across the dance floor, waltzing to the slow, jazzy music. 'There's just something different, the way I feel about her now... she's probably the prettiest girl in the party.' Mokuba thought. He was conscious of the fact that his hand was on a girl's waist... he had danced before, but he never felt as nervous as he did now. There was just something he couldn't identify with Serenity.

'What if I'm... falling for her all of a sudden?' he thought shyly.

He barely noticed when the song ended, and Serenity was leading him away from the dance floor.

Her cheeks were pink, probably from dancing. "Want to get some punch?" she asked him.

"Okay. I'll get some for you." He said, eager to get away from Serenity so she wouldn't be able to see his flaming red face.

He never blushed this much before. Especially not around Serenity. 'Maybe it is possible that I have a crush on her...' he thought nervously.

* * *

Seto Kaiba was leaning on the wall, talking to his future in-laws. So far, he was having a fairly good night.

He held the glass of champagne, bringing it to his lips.

"So what of the merge, Vince?" He asked politely, careful not to be rude to his future in-laws.

"The merge of our companies? It'll be fine. All we need to do is wait for the legal documents from the authorities and then we sign them." Said Mr. Hiragamo calmly.

"It's a shame that Ellie wasn't able to make it tonight. She has many patients because there's been an accident down at Plum Avenue." Mrs. Hiragamo added.

"Yes, it is a shame." He agreed. He finished his glass and put it on the table.

"By the way, Seto, we noticed a very pretty girl near your brother... who is she? We've never seen her before, in fact." Said Mr. Hiragamo.

Kaiba got curious. 'Who the hell could that be? I didn't know Mokie had a girlfriend.' He thought. He walked up to the window and peered out of the glass. He saw a pretty young girl with her hair in a ponytail, falling gracefully on her shoulders. He couldn't see the rest of her face but he could tell that she was attractive. 'Now who could that be?' he thought. He was determined to ask his little brother who that was when the party ended.

* * *

**Later, after the party ended... Kaiba Mansion.**

"Mokie, who was that girl you were with a while ago?" Kaiba asked his brother fondly.

Mokuba took a while before answering. "That was Serenity Wheeler," he said distractedly. He was busy fingering a flower in the vase in their living room.

'Serenity Wheeler? The mutt's SISTER?' It struck him. The pretty, attractive girl was his former employee! But what the hell did she do with herself that made her look so... different? And how was she able to go to the party?

"Seto, listen, don't get mad at the Wheelers, I invited both of them to the party because I heard that Serenity had just gotten home from France... I mean, cut her some slack. Besides, she's not in your employment anymore." Mokuba said, a weird glint in his eyes.

Seto glared at his little brother as he kept on fingering the petals of the flower. 'What now, does he think that he's in love with Wheeler? I will not have my little brother marrying someone like her, especially since her brother is my enemy!' he thought furiously. Plus, he knew that little Miss Wheeler would break his brother's heart. He didn't deserve someone like _her_. He was way too dignified to have her as a girlfriend.

'Damn it, I have to find some way to break them up,' he thought, marching up the stairs without another look at his brother.

* * *

A/N: Okay, that's the end for Chapter 2! So, the next chapter will start with "operation take-brother-away-from girl, otherwise known as operation TBAG". Poor Mokie! I wonder how he's going to deal with his brother trying to break him up from Serenity. This chapter will probably be the only MokubaXSerenity part. Otherwise, it's SetoXSerenity! You know, I kind of felt weird when I wrote this because I'm a SetoXSerenity fan, not MokubaXSerenity. Anyway, sorry to all MokubaXSerenity fans, you won't be seeing anymore of that! See ya! Pls. Review!!!


	3. Chapter III

**

* * *

Chapter 3**

* * *

Disclaimers: I don't own YGO. How many times do I have to say it???

A/N: Hey you guys! I'm sorry I haven't finished this in quite a while... well I hope I gave you what's worth the wait. Tell me if you want me to improve, please! Luv you guys!

* * *

Kaiba sighed. His brother was falling in love with a girl. Making it worse, it was Serenity Wheeler. She was not really returning his affection, because he could see that she was not paying much attention to him.

"Crap. My brother will result with a broken heart. I should really make him forget that. But how?" he thought.

He was a great schemer, and had always been good at that. He could come up with a plan in about 5 seconds with deep thought.

'I got it! I have to distract her from him. I can make her fall in love with me, making her think that I actually liked her... but I can dump her at any time I want, and make sure that Ellie doesn't get in the way." He thought.

As much as he hated to do it, he should because it was for the sake of his brother.

* * *

Serenity noticed that Mokuba had been paying a lot of attention to her last night. It couldn't be that he was falling in love with her-she had known him for years and she wasn't about to break their friendship.

She didn't like him that way. She never did, only as a good friend. She could never love him.

She felt kind of sorry for Mokuba.

'Best that I avoid him for now.' She thought.

* * *

"Hello, I want to speak with Captain Ashton. Is he there?" Kaiba asked curtly.

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba, he is not present. Can I take any orders?" _Answered a cool female voice.

"Okay, I need you to get my private plane ready for tomorrow. Tell the captain that he will be piloting it."

"_What's the destination sir?" _

"Hmmm... my vacation-spot in Ginashima town." Kaiba hung up the phone.

His plans to get rid of Serenity were in order.

* * *

'God, she is so damn dead... this plan is fool proof.' Kaiba thought evilly after he made his last call.

"Hey, brother! What's up?" Mokuba suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Nothing." Kaiba asked impatiently. God, why did Mokuba have to interrupt such a fine, progressive moment?

"Okay... I'll tell you what's up with me." Mokuba said, taking a seat on the couch next to his big brother. 'Come on, faster, I haven't got all day.' Kaiba noted mentally.

"Bro... have you ever experienced dating a girl?" he suddenly asked.

"Mokuba, are you kidding me? I don't give a fig for girls!" Kaiba said.

"Oh yeah you do. What's your relationship with Ellie then if not love, huh?" Mokuba retorted.

"Fine. So I went on dates with her. But so what?"

"Girls don't work that way, Seto." Mokuba reminded him, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms. Kaiba shot a glare back at him. "I treat girls the way I want, Mokuba." Kaiba said, scowling.

"Well, what if you liked a girl and you want to get to know her more, date her...all that stuff..." Mokuba said, ticking off on his fingers.

"Face it, Mokuba. I don't give a damn about girls and never will."

"Even when you have a wife?" Mokuba questioned skeptically.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Oh please. Maybe once Ellie knows how I really am, she would just divorce me but I get her money." He scowled again.

Mokuba's eyes widened in shock. "Seto, you can't do that. You, of all people... it's not fair to Ellie and it's not fair to her father and mother too." Mokuba said.

"Damn it, Mokuba. I won't ever change my views of girls and that's that!"

* * *

She turned the key in the lock, opening the rigid door. "Serenity! How was your day?" called the tired but persistent voice of Joey Wheeler. She smiled to herself. Joey was always there to cheer her up after an exhausting and busy day.

"It's okay, bro," she replied, trying to add more cheer to her voice.

"Good." Concluded Joey, leaning backward on his swiveling chair. He spun it around to stretch his arms and he gave a great big yawn. "Damn, I can't believe how exhausting this day is."

"Ditto." Serenity agreed, running an anxious hand through her long silky brown hair.

"Oh, yeah, by the way... I forgot to tell you, there's a message for you on the answering machine." Joey said, standing up. "Oh, I see... sure, I'll go check it out." She said, taking two strides to the answering machine, right beside the phone in the corner of the room.

"I'll go check on the food for lunch." Joey said.

"Hey, Joey, make sure you don't burn it!" Serenity joked, watching her brother roll his eyes in sarcasm before she pressed the answering machine's play button.

"Ahem. Good morning, Miss Wheeler. This is Mr. Kaiba's secretary, and he wants to meet with you. Please see him at Kaiba Corp. International Airport as soon as possible. Thank you."

Serenity flicked the playback button on the answering machine and the message puzzled her more than ever. Why would an important, busy person like Kaiba ask someone like her to meet with him? This was weird.

Without another word, she strode briskly across the room, grabbing her jacket, she headed for the front door. With a thud, she closed it behind her.

* * *

'Where the damn hell are you???' Kaiba thought impatiently. He swung his wrist to see the time on his watch. His secretary informed him that she had phoned the Wheeler's residence 15 minutes ago. She was late!

"Sorry I'm late." A soft, sweet voice said behind him. He turned around, seeing Serenity there with a cheerful smile on her face. 'Damn,' Kaiba thought. She was a stunning sight for him to see. Long locks of chestnut brown hair were strewn upon her beautiful face. Mahogany brown eyes looked deeply back into his and she had an aura of sincerity.

'Okay, Seto, don't fall into that spell...' he reminded himself, straightening up nervously.

"Um... Mr. Kaiba." She said in a quiet voice.

"Right. Whatever..." Kaiba growled in his low voice. Serenity giggled but she was silenced with one look from Kaiba's serious face.

Kaiba was determined not to be won over by this girl's charms and beauty, but it was worth a lot of concentration. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his lifetime.

"Wheeler... why did you quit from your job at the Kaiba Mansion? I wasn't quite paying enough, or what?" he demanded.

Her face crumpled into a look of surprise. "I just found out that I could get a new job. You paid quite enough to satisfy me, but I felt like I can be something more in this world." She said quietly. 'Is this some sort of interview?' she thought.

He didn't reply, because he was busy staring at something else nearby. 'Shit! It's Mokuba... Need to get her away from here NOW!' He was busy thinking. With some serious consideration, moving in lightning speed, he grabbed Serenity by the arms and shoved her into his nearby office. She tried to scream, but Kaiba stifled her scream just in time. "Don't make any extraordinary noise. I will tell you later." He hissed, slamming and locking the door and was ready to face his brother Mokuba.

"Seto... what are you doing here?" Mokuba asked quickly as he approached his brother.

"Nothing much. Work, you know. And you?"

"I heard from your secretary that you were here... I was hoping that you wanted to go hang out with me. After all, it's a free day, you know." Mokuba said.

Kaiba hesitated before he was able to give his next reply. "Sorry, Mokuba, but I'm working late. Maybe next time. You can ask your friends, you know."

But that was totally the wrong thing to say because what Mokuba said next was really heart-piercing to Seto.

"YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND ME!" Mokuba yelled. "ALL YOU DO IS WORK, WORK, WORK AND DO YOU EVEN HAVE TIME TO SPEND WITH YOUR ONLY BROTHER? YOUR ONLY SIBLING? I WOULD GLADLY HAVE HUNG OUT WITH MOM AND DAD IF THEY WERE ALIVE! AND I ALWAYS HANG OUT WITH MY FRIENDS! I CAN EASILY ASK THEM, BUT YOU, YOU'RE _ALWAYS_ BUSY!" Mokuba yelled. He had a fierce look in his eyes that Seto had not seen before.

And with that last retort, Mokuba stomped away, leaving Seto staring after his fading brother's shadow.

* * *

**MEANWHILE, IN KAIBA'S OFFICE... KAIBA CORP. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...**

"LET ME OUT!!!" Serenity tried shouting, but it was no use. Kaiba had locked her in... and she wasn't able to get out of the locked room until he came back.

She slumped down the door. Why did she even agree to meet Kaiba in the first place? He was nothing to her but her employer. Nothing else.

She stopped feeling upset. She knew it would not get her anywhere. She had to find a way to get out. Getting up, she reached into Kaiba's mini library and searched for any hidden keys if there were. Her search turned out to be hopeless. She sighed. Then she started exploring Kaiba's office. 'He locked me here... It doesn't matter if he catches me snooping around his stuff anyway. And he's so mysterious, I don't really know much about him.' She thought.

She rummaged through his mahogany desk. 'What's this?' she thought as she picked up a big brown book. She opened it, gasping in surprise as she dropped the book. It was a photo album. She thought that people like Kaiba wouldn't have any photo albums. But Kaiba was still a person...

She took it back in her hands and flipped through it. 'Aw, he's so cute!' she thought, gazing at a small picture showing the small Seto and Mokuba on a swing together. Serenity flipped through the album, and once she had finished, she closed it with a soft thud.

"Having fun?"

Serenity looked behind her to see Seto Kaiba glaring at her. 'Ohmigosh...' she thought. 'I'm in for it now...'

* * *

A/N: Sorry it's so short and that it came out really late... ugh... I hate school! It's taking up a lot of my time and I couldn't update... oh well... glad I finished this chapter... hehe... cliffie... Anyways, please please please please REVIEW!!! I'M BEGGING YOU!!!!!


	4. Chapter IV

Chapter 4

* * *

A/N: Man, I'm really turning crappy... I don't know how to continue with my fics, and I get writer's block ALL THE TIME!!! Damn it... and I really want to write something remotely good... that will be able to satisfy you guys... but I can only write well when I'm inspired... sigh... oh well, I guess I better get started with this next installment... PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh!

* * *

To be caught by Seto Kaiba, the creepy, strict, cynical, fearsome Seto Kaiba... was FATAL. Dead fatal.

Once you got caught, you feel like your soul was sucked out of you.

That was how Serenity Wheeler felt when she got caught red-handed by our famous CEO. Boy, was she in for it now.

"_You. Wheeler. Who gave you the right to look through my files?" _

"Those weren't files! That was your photo album!" Serenity protested.

"There are laws implemented for the right of **privacy**. And you are **violating** it. I can sue you very well for that. But knowing that you and your brother are lowlifes, I won't sue you. If you do whatever I say."

Serenity was scared now. What would Kaiba make her do? She was in so much trouble. But what was his problem anyway? It was just a photo album. It's not like she was caught reading some really important document.

But nevertheless, out of fear of the CEO, she had to agree. "Um... o-okay." She said hesitantly, knowing that she would regret it somehow.

Kaiba smirked. "I know you would see things my way." He said coldly. "Now you are coming with me."

* * *

"**MAI! I'm so freakin' out! Serenity's gone and I haven't heard from her ever since a while ago!" **

"Calm down Joey. She can't have gone to a place where she knew that she would be in trouble." Mai said, deep in logical thinking. She had just come over to the Wheeler apartment once she knew that Serenity was missing.

"No, no, no... this isn't happening! Can't be happening..." 

"Joey! Stop it! Act like a man, will you?" Mai said, putting her head in her hands.

"**But my sister's MISSING! She didn't tell me where she went and she left no NOTE!" **

"JOEY!!! SHUT UP, WILL YOU!! I CAN'T THINK STRAIGHT!" Mai shouted, getting really annoyed at Joey. He was acting like a total baby. 'Boys,' she thought exasperatedly. Sometimes guys were just TOO tiring.

After a moment, she said, "We can't tell for sure where she went because she left no messages. Why don't you try contacting Yugi and the others, ask them if they saw her around?" she said logically.

"Good thinking, Mai!" Joey said eagerly. Mai shook her head. "Joey, all you need to do is use your common sense." She said.

He picked up the phone and dialed the Mutou residence. "Yug! Have you seen Serenity anywhere?"

"_Um, no, Joey. Why?"_

"She's missing! She went out and didn't leave a note, and she hasn't come back till now!"

"_Don't worry Joey, we'll find her. I'll call our friends and we'll meet at your house." _

"Okay, thanks Yug." Joey hung up. "What did he say?" Mai asked.

"The others are coming here in about a few minutes, so they can help us find Serenity."

* * *

Mokuba was furious. How could his brother keep refusing him like that?? He had finally lost his cool back at the airport. He was glad that he was away from there right now or else he would keep remembering that ugly incident.

He and his older brother Seto never fought in their whole lives. It was only now that Mokuba lost his temper. It was going too far-his brother was already acting as if they weren't brothers. All he cared about was work. Money. He never had time for Mokuba.

He fumed, taking fast, furious breaths. He was now in his personal limousine driven by his chauffeur. "Kaiba Mansion." He said and the car moved on in a steady motion.

He sat back on the car seat and closed his eyes until he reached the confines of the mansion.

'Finally, a place where I can think.' He thought. He flopped on the couch in the living room. Several Blue-Eyes White dragon decorations were on the couch from top to bottom, covered with midnight blue velvet.

He was only resting there for a while when the phone rang. 'Geez. Must be one of his partners, calling for an important document.' Mokuba thought. Nevertheless, he had to answer it.

"Kaiba residence."

"_Hey, Mokuba, it's me, Ellie. Is your brother there?"_

Mokuba breathed a sigh of relief. It was just his brother's fiancée. "Um, he's not here. Can I take a message or something?"

"_Um, no thanks. I just wanted to know if he's there... We were supposed to have a lunch date today. Can you remind him in case he forgets?" _

"Sure." Mokuba said. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"_Hmmm... nothing. That's all. Thanks Mokuba!" _

"You're welcome." He said and hung up the phone. 'Great. What on earth could he be doing at that airport?' Mokuba thought.

* * *

Kaiba gave an evil smirk. He had Serenity just where he wanted her. And he couldn't help smiling to himself. 'This operation is going how I want it to go.' He said. He was always a smooth operator. He could bend anyone to do what he willed. He got it easy.

"I hope you understand," Serenity began, "That what you just did was blackmail."

"Yes I know," Kaiba shot back. "I don't need someone like you to tell me. I'm not as stupid as you think." He said coldly, enjoying every moment of his plan.

She bit back her retort. "Well, whatever you're doing," she said, "I hope it's something worthwhile."

Kaiba didn't give her another reply. Suddenly his cell phone rang urgently. He took it out and looked at who was calling him. Mokuba...

"Hello?"

"_Ellie just called. She says that you guys have a lunch date. So don't forget." _

His brother's voice had an icy quality to it. "Okay. Thanks." Seto Kaiba said briefly and hung up.

"And what was that about?" Serenity inquired.

"None of your business. We're going." He said. But deep in his mind, he was troubled. How was he going to meet with Ellie, and take Serenity with him at the same time? Big dilemma. Sooner or later he had to work it out.

He took a look at his watch. 11:30 A.M., which meant that there were only 30 minutes to go. It was either he cancelled his lunch date with Ellie, or he did something else.

He called Ellie's office, leaving a message saying that he was sorry that he couldn't go for business purposes. It wasn't exactly a lie; he was doing some important business. Which was getting rid of Serenity Wheeler, for good. Ellie could wait until all this was over. It was best if she didn't know what he was up to.

* * *

A/N: That's all for chapter 4! How was this chapter? Crappy? Anyways, please leave a review, even if it's flames or comments, violent reactions-all accepted. Thanks!


	5. Chapter V

**Chapter 5**

* * *

A/N: Hello! I haven't updated for a really long time!!! Hopefully I could update my other stories soon. I'm just not sure when. But here goes, chapter 5!

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.

* * *

"Where are you taking me?"

Kaiba sighed. This girl was never going to stop asking questions. She reminded him of a bratty little kid who kept asking stupid questions. Yet so naïve, so gullible, falling for his trap…

He smirked to himself. It was a good talent of his to manipulate people into doing whatever he wanted them to do. It had always been one of his reliable sources. "Somewhere." He replied, in answer to Serenity's question. She frowned and said, "You should at least tell me where we are going. I agreed to come with you, after all."

"If you must know, it's a vacation spot." He said, volunteering no more information.

They were finally on the airplane, on the way to his vacation spot, one that he rarely used, in Ginashima Town. It was quite far from Domino.

"A vacation spot???" she questioned, giving him a bewildered, confused look. She thought that he was going to take her someplace with a prison cell or something like that. "I thought you were going to take me somewhere like-" she stopped herself just in time from saying "prison" or "jail". She knew if she said that she was going to get into trouble again.

"Take you somewhere like?" Kaiba persisted, the look in his eyes telling her to finish her sentence.

"Nothing…" she said. "Never mind." She added.

"Tell me." The look in his eyes was now hungry, as if it was so important to him.

"Mr. Kaiba," she said, "If you don't mind, I'd rather like it if you didn't give me that kind of… look." She said, flinching slightly.

Kaiba looked away, not replying, and they didn't talk for the whole trip. Serenity didn't dare complain or ask any question anymore.

"We're here, sir." The pilot of the airplane told Kaiba. He nodded curtly in reply. _She's lucky this time, _he thought. He led her to this big mansion he owned in the town, with a big garden stretch up front.

Serenity marveled at the sight. "It's beautiful," she gasped under her breath so that Kaiba wouldn't hear her. Unfortunately Kaiba had really sharp ears so he heard what she had said. "Of course it is," he replied gruffly. "It cost me millions of yen just to build this." He said, standing beside her.

Serenity was speechless. "Oh yes, I forgot…" Kaiba began to say. Serenity turned to look at him. "Serenity… would you like to go out with me for dinner?"

* * *

Ellie Hiragamo paced around her room. She needed to go to the hospital, but for some reason she couldn't get in her car. Instead she ended up locked in her room, pacing and thinking.

'_Is he really avoiding me or is this another way of telling me that he doesn't love me anymore?' _she thought. You must have guessed by now that she was thinking about the cynical, unpredictable CEO.

She couldn't help thinking about that. After all, he was her fiancé and she had the right to be concerned about him. But there was the question of their feelings for each other, too. What if they were married and one day Kaiba had committed adultery, and Ellie didn't even know it? She would be playing the role of the innocent, unsuspecting wife. And she couldn't allow that to happen between them.

There was a resonant knock at the door. Ellie opened the door to see who it was. It was her mother.

"What's bothering you, my daughter? The maids tell me that you haven't come down to drive to the hospital like you were supposed to. What's the matter?" her mother said gently.

"…" Ellie was speechless. She couldn't find the right words to explain her dilemma. "I…"

"Tell me, Ellie. You're my daughter. I know you. There's something troubling you deeply. It will help you if you tell me," her mother advised.

"I… I'm starting to doubt Seto." She said, regretting the words as they came out of her mouth. After all, Seto was her fiancé and she should trust him completely. He wouldn't be the right man for her if he betrayed her trust.

Her mother sat down on her bed, and beckoned her to sit down too. "Don't worry about it, Ellie. It's natural for us women to doubt their men." She sighed deeply. "It's a part of life. But I feel that Seto is just insecure. You are just young people. People say that we mature with old age." She sighed again.

Ellie felt even more dumbfounded with this kind of explanation. Did Seto really feel insecure about their relationship? Was this what it was about? Did he cancel the lunch date because of that reason? Then if that was the reason, then maybe he wasn't ready for a relationship yet.

'I can't keep trying to find out the puzzle like this. I need to know the facts before jumping to conclusions.' Ellie thought wisely. "Thanks for your advice, mom. I think I'd better get going now." Ellie got up and smoothed out her clothes.

"That's my girl," said her mother, and watched her daughter head out of the room, saying a quiet goodbye.

Ellie made her way to her trusty car and picked up her cellphone to dial the Kaiba residence.

"_Hello. Kaiba residence."_

"Mokuba, it's Ellie again. I'm sorry to disturb you, but do you know where Seto is?"

"_Sorry, Ellie, but the last time I saw my brother was at his airport. I don't know where he is now. I think he's on some sort of business trip. I don't know."_ Mokuba's voice sounded dismal and monotone.

"Oh, I see. I was just wondering. Thanks anyway, Mokuba." Ellie hung up and sat in the driver's seat of her car.

* * *

Joey Wheeler paced the room, his friends watching him. "Stop it, Joey. You're making us all nervous." Tristan said.

"I'm trying to think." Joey said.

Mai sighed. "Joey, don't worry. Serenity could just be somewhere and she's going to come back later. Did she tell you where she was going?"

"No, she didn't tell me." Joey said quietly. There was a moment of silence then Joey howled, "I'M THE WORST BROTHER EVER!!! I CAN'T EVEN TAKE CARE OF MY SISTER!!!" Then he slumped down.

"Joey!" Mai ran to Joey and put an arm around him. "Joey, don't lose hope. We're going to help you find her. Don't worry."

"Yeah, Joey. That's what friends are for." Yugi agreed, standing up.

"We're here to support you, Joey." Tea said.

"Anything for Serenity," Tristan and Duke muttered at the same time.

"You helped me a lot of times, Joey. Now it's my time to help you." Mai added.

Joey smiled. He had the best friends in the whole world.

* * *

Serenity couldn't believe what Kaiba had just said. He had just invited her out-out for dinner! Wasn't it true that he had a fiancée? What was he doing with her, then? And he had just called her by her first name! He usually called her Wheeler, or the 'mutt's sister'. Was this a trap? Should she accept?

Kaiba was looking down at her with an anxious look on his face, like any guy if they asked a girl, waiting for the girl to accept.

'_If he's acting, well, he must be a pretty good actor.' _She thought. **_'Why don't you just accept? You know you want it.'_ **Whispered a voice in her head.

'_He's nothing to me but my ex-employer. I don't like him in that way.'_

'_**But come to think of it, I don't think he's acting. Come on, you've got nothing to lose.'**_

'_But it's wrong! He has a fiancée! He would be cheating on her and it's going to be all my fault.'_

'_**Do you think he's still on with his wedding? Looks like he broke up with that fiancée of his, otherwise, why would he ask you out? Come on, just accept!' **_

And with that, the voice left her brain. _'What should I do, what should I do, what should I do??'_ she thought frantically.

"Should I take that as a no?" Kaiba asked.

Serenity came back from her thoughts and answered, "Okay. Why not?"

* * *

Mokuba Kaiba was worrying._ 'Where's Seto??? He's late for lunch…'_ he thought. He instantly felt guilty about yelling at his older brother a while ago. _'I shouldn't have yelled at him! What if he_-' Mokuba couldn't bear to think of the consequences that might have befallen his brother.

People have said that Seto Kaiba, the rich and handsome CEO, was cold to everyone-his secretaries, employees, people working at Kaiba Corp, his maids and everyone else-except Mokuba. Mokuba heard this so many times, while he was passing by or people who knew his brother by reputation. Many people would also comment, "There goes the brother of that rich guy."

Mokuba felt guilty at yelling at his only brother, thinking that maybe he wasn't coming home again, and the last thing Mokuba said to him was that he was too busy to hang out with Mokuba. And he knew well enough that Seto was only busy because he needed to work-for the good of his brother.

'_And this is how I pay him back, for working so hard? I'm the worst brother ever,'_ Mokuba thought. And he wished, wished with all his might-that Seto would come home again, very soon so that he could give him a heartfelt apology.

* * *

Joey Wheeler called up the police station. "Um, hello. I'm looking for a missing person."

"_Why don't you try the missing persons department… here's the number." _And the police officer gave Joey the number, telling him to call again.

"Now this is what I hate about police stations," Tristan said. "When you call them up, they keep giving you to other departments."

"Hello, I'm looking for a missing person." Joey said to the phone.

"_Name please."_

"I'm Joey Wheeler. I'm looking for my sister, Serenity Wheeler."

"Are you sure you checked every possible place she could be, Mr. Wheeler?" 

"Um, not really."

"_Well, I advise you to check again."_

"Listen, I-" But there was a click and the police officer hung up. "DAMN IT!" Joey said and hung up the phone. "Serenity, where are you???" Joey howled.

"Come on, let's go ask people if they've seen her." Mai said, and pulled Joey by the arm.

* * *

"Have you seen Serenity Wheeler, ma'am?" Yugi asked the librarian.

"I'm sorry Yugi, but I haven't seen Serenity all morning." Answered Mrs. Yamamoto.

"But I thought she comes here everyday." Duke said.

"Yes, she does, but I'm afraid I haven't seen her at all today."

"Okay. Thanks, Mrs. Yamamoto." Yugi said. The group left the library.

"That's it, we've gone into every single possible place she could have been in," Joey said, slumping hopelessly onto a bench nearby.

"Don't give up hope. Now, tell me… who could be angry enough at Serenity to possibly kidnap her?" Mai asked.

"No one. Serenity's really nice, and she's one of the kindest people around." Duke remarked.

"Well, then, what about you Joey? Maybe someone took Serenity to get back at you." Mai inquired.

Joey paused for a moment and thought. "KAIBA!!" he finally grunted.

"Seto Kaiba? But he's too busy to do anything of that sort. Besides, he's too dignified and he wouldn't stoop down to kidnap Serenity… but Joey has a point…" Tea said slowly. "What if he _did_ kidnap Serenity?"

* * *

"Oh my gosh! I didn't tell Joey where I was going! He must be worrying about me right now." Serenity realized.

She and Kaiba were having dinner in a fancy restaurant.

Kaiba managed to stop her from panicking. "Don't worry, I think he's probably waiting for you to come home. I think he knows that you're out."

"Obviously he does, but he doesn't know where I am!"

"He doesn't have anything to worry about because you're safe." Kaiba said.

Serenity didn't have anything more to retort. "Now enjoy your meal." Kaiba said gruffly. The table was silent once more. She felt weird and conscious that she was sitting across from Kaiba, and all the people were staring at her and whispering. She knew how they felt. It must be pretty weird to see the serious, cold Seto Kaiba with a common girl like her.

"So…" she attempted to start a conversation. Kaiba didn't look up from his food. She noticed that he ate well manneredly and neatly. "Um… I guess you're the first guy I've seen eating so… neatly." She commented, turning a light shade of pink. Kaiba looked up.

"I was brought up this way," he said. "Gozaburo made sure of that." He went back to his food.

Serenity leaned against her chair uncomfortably. It was so hard to talk to a man of few words. "You are so quiet," she said.

"I am, as people say-that type of guy." He smirked. "Many say that I'm cold and cruel."

"You're not," she found herself denying what he said. "You're the most well brought up guy I've ever been with." She said, meaning it as a compliment.

"Now that's something I haven't heard in years." He laughed. She started to get uncomfortable again. It was weird to see him laugh. _'Stop it, Serenity. You're discriminating him like he's some sort of alien.' _She chided herself.

"So… enough about me," he said. "What about you? All I know about you is that you're Joey Wheeler's sister. And that you were once one of my employees."

"Um," she managed, giving a forced smile, "I'm… the type of girl who would appreciate small things." She said nervously. "I'm the type of person to help another person in need… I don't know why, I just like helping people…" she said uncomfortably. "And of course I love my brother, Joey."

"Okay…" Kaiba said. "What about… your interests?"

"Well… I love nature…" she said, feeling like it was some sort of interview.

"Hmmm… interesting." He said. "So you like flowers, trees and all those kind of stuff?"

Serenity was feeling so awkward by now. Her knees were trembling. Why on earth did Seto Kaiba want to know her better?

"Y-yes," she stammered. _'Where are you, Joey???' _she thought.

* * *

A/N: So here's a little interview by Seto Kaiba… whoo… scary… anyways, next chapter coming up! Stay tuned… please review!!! Any comments, suggestions, violent reactions or flames… any kind of review welcome. See ya! Belated merry Christmas and a happy new year!! :) 


	6. Chapter VI

**Chapter 6**

**

* * *

**

A/N: Hello! It's finally summer vacation! Wow, those tests were really mind-wracking… Anyways! Here's Chapter 6, and afterwards hopefully I can update the other fics! So… here are a few replies…

**Replies:**

**Cute Peridot 816: **Hello! Long time since I updated this… Hehe! So if the other chapter was long, what do you think about this one:) hehe! Worst brother ever… Yup! I like that line:) Yeah, I agree… at least Joey has really good friends… but I really don't like Tea Gardner! Hahaha… you know why… :) Anyways, glad the PT's over! So exhilarated… can't wait to update my other fics! What you planning for the summer:) k dat's ol see ya!

**RoseGoddess874: **Hehehe! Check this chapter out! You'll see something "more" between them! But I'm not having any spoilers out so… here you go! Hope you enjoy :) c ya!

* * *

Joey was furious. Where on earth could Serenity be? He had been asking himself that question for the past hour now. And there was still no sign of her.

"**THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I'M GOING TO THAT BASTARD'S CORPORATION RIGHT NOW!" **

Joey stormed past Yugi and Tristan, both wearing dumbfounded looks on their faces. They haven't seen Joey this mad since he last bickered with Kaiba.

Tea looked frightened like she couldn't say a thing. It was Mai who finally spoke up.

"Calm down, Joey. I'm sure we'll find Serenity." She said calmly.

"Easy for you to say!" Joey scoffed. "Your younger siblings have never gotten lost, have they?" he spat in his extremely bad mood.

But Mai knew better. She knew that Joey said really hurtful things, some of them he never meant to say when he lost his temper. "But I agree, I think we should stop by the Kaiba Corporation. Maybe he knows where she is. After all, he used to be her employer."

Joey didn't have to say a word.

* * *

**Kaiba Corporation. **

"What do you mean you don't know where Serenity Wheeler is?" Joey demanded. He was trying to talk casually with Kaiba's secretary, as not to attract any attention.

"I do not know, Mr. Wheeler. I'm afraid I haven't seen her."

"But she's gotta be around here someplace! Let me speak to Kaiba and I'll just ask him!"

"Mr. Kaiba's out. I'm sorry, Mr. Wheeler, I didn't mean to cause you any inconvenience."

Joey was already holding in his anger. He **knew **Kaiba had to have Serenity with him.

"May I use your phone?" he said, getting a better idea.

"Yes." The secretary handed him her table phone. He dialed Serenity's mobile number, hoping that she had left her cellphone open.

* * *

Serenity was actually starting to begin to enjoy the night, but she was interrupted by the ringing of her cellular phone.

_Riiiing! Riiiing! _

"Um, sorry… I forgot to put it in silent mode. Sorry for disturbing your meal." She apologized hurriedly to Kaiba, who nodded and resumed his dinner.

She answered her phone with a discreet "Hello?"

"_SERENITY! Thank God I was able to reach you. Where are you?"_

"Um… I'm…" she paused for a moment, thinking of a small alibi. "… I'm eating dinner outside. I'm really sorry, Joey, I forgot you were the one cooking dinner tonight." She said guiltily.

He paused. _"Yeah, okay, it's fine. I'm just glad you're safe. Just come back home when you're done, okay?"_

"Yeah. I promise. Bye."

She hang up and put it back in her bag. Kaiba shifted in his seat. "So… that was your brother?"

"Yes." She answered quietly.

"What did you say to him?" he asked.

"Nothing much. I told him I was having lunch outside."

"Did you tell him that you were having dinner with me?"

"No."

"Good. I was hoping you didn't. Please don't tell him anything about this short… meeting." Kaiba seemed uncomfortable saying words that were quite new to him.

"Oh, okay. Thank you for the nice dinner." She said politely.

"It's no problem."

And they resumed eating. Kaiba was trying hard to think of a subject that could break up the silence between them, but he was speechless. He glanced at Serenity from time to time, and for the first time that evening, he appreciated how beautiful she was.

Ever since she had been working for him, he never noticed her, but he knew of her presence. She never caused him any harm, and yet it was hard to believe that that same girl was sitting right in front of him. It felt good to be in her company, though it had been a long time since he and Ellie ate out for dinner.

As he noticed her splendor, shivers rushed down his spine. His whole body tingled in a sensation that was totally new to him. As long as he lived, he had never felt something like that before.

He stopped and realized that he was already fantasizing, and not really minding his food anymore. _'Why does she have this kind of effect on me? No woman had ever done this to me before. Why of all people, it's her?' _he thought. Did she also have this kind of effect on Mokuba?

"Um, Mr. Kaiba—"

"Seto."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Call me Seto."

Serenity immediately began to feel awkward. "Um, okay… Seto… why were you staring at me just then?"

Seto Kaiba could feel himself blush. "No. I wasn't. I was just about to compliment… how beautiful you look tonight." He said quietly, temperature rising in his body.

Now it was Serenity's turn to blush. "Oh, thanks." She said shyly. "You look really handsome, too." She commented, meaning it. The CEO might not know it, but she thought that he was really handsome, even with the stern look always on his face as he concentrated on his work. He had always been a dedicated businessman, always thinking seriously about things. But now… he seemed to have a different aura.

He nodded. By now, the awkwardness Serenity was feeling had rubbed on him too.

Serenity started feeling like her normal self, and decided that Kaiba was no different from any other person she knew. There, of course, had to be something special about him that she hadn't seen yet. She decided to find out what.

Kaiba felt strange. He knew that he had invited Serenity out to dinner just so that he could make her fall in love with him, and then afterwards he could dump her. He went back to his cunning objective. Soon he started a conversation about her trip to Paris.

"What did you do in Paris?" he asked, pretending to be curious.

"Well, of course I went to do some sight-seeing… and a bit of shopping. But I also studied there." She said, starting to brighten up. "I love Paris."

"I've visited it," Kaiba informed her. "I must agree, it is really a nice place to be in."

'_And a nice place for business,' _he added to himself.

"I'm glad to hear that. I feel like Paris has a part of me… somehow. It's somewhat like my second home."

She told him more about her trip, and little by little he got interested.

'_So she really is like this. No wonder many people like her.' _He thought discreetly. Serenity had a list of qualities that he appreciated about her, and the list grew longer by the minute.

But there was something in her that seemed to attract him… some kind of magnetic force that attracted him to her. Before he knew it, he was already daydreaming as his companion was talking, until Serenity said, "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about Joey!" she exclaimed, looking at her watch.

"Oh, that's no problem. My chauffeur can take you home." Kaiba said dismissively.

"Really? Okay… thanks for the offer. I really appreciate it."

'_And you don't know how much I appreciate you being here with me tonight.' _He added silently without thinking much of what came to his mind.

She smiled and Kaiba took her to his private plane. She was silent for the whole trip, but he did not mind because he, too, let his mind wander through his thoughts.

Serenity was dropped off near her home, which was a walking distance away, and she felt compelled to say thank you again to Kaiba.

'_He doesn't seem that bad. I wonder why Joey doesn't like him.' _

Kaiba was wondering whether he should kiss her goodnight as he dropped her home.

"Um, I'd like to say… thanks, Seto, for the wonderful evening. I really… enjoyed it." She said, her pretty face gleaming under the moonlight. "Why don't you come out of your limo? It's really a nice evening." She invited him encouragingly, looking up at the night sky.

He debated whether he wanted to go outside or not, but in the end it was his body that responded for him as he moved out of his car.

And before he knew it, he was approaching Serenity, sparks lighting up and electricity was surging through his energetic body.

He kissed her in the middle of the empty street, with no one to witness the special moment in their hearts. Their souls connected to each other as they exchanged the kiss.

"Serenity…" Kaiba murmured as his hands tangled in her long brown hair.

Serenity felt as if she could not pull away from his arms. She felt the warmth of his arms as she wrapped hers around his neck.

Later on they had pulled away, and their faces were gleaming bright red in the moonlight.

"I have to go," Serenity said simply as she turned around to go to her house. "Joey's waiting for me."

Kaiba merely smiled, still dazed from their kiss. He wondered why he couldn't feel that when he kissed Ellie. Was he really falling for Serenity? "Good night, Serenity." He whispered as she walked away.

* * *

A/N: So how was that? S/S moment:) there you have it! Um… so… any comments, suggestions, violent reactions? All reviews are welcome, even flames. Please review! Thanks so much! 


	7. Chapter VII

**--Chapter 7-- **

* * *

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.

* * *

Kaiba was feeling confused and guilty at the same time. He was in the limousine on the way home to the Kaiba Mansion. He had every right to feel confused. He had just kissed Serenity Wheeler, someone whose brother he detested, even when he had a good enough fiancée. _'Since when have I kissed Ellie like that?' _he thought to himself.

His plan was to make Serenity fall in love with him, then he would get rid of her. Then he would marry Ellie Hiragamo and the merge would be complete. As for Mokuba… he could easily find another girl. But his plan was working backward… he felt like he was also falling for Serenity. And that was not part of his plan.

'Stupidity! I should erase these feelings for her before it's too late! Or else my plan won't work.' He reminded himself. But the problem was… when he was near Serenity, he had this sort of attraction like a magnet.

And when he was with Ellie… all she could talk about was her work at the ER. About how she helped mothers give birth, and how surgeons worked, etc. Usually Kaiba pretended to listen eagerly, but deep inside his brain, he could only think about the merge and the benefit for the Kaiba Corporation.

He pushed away the guilt in his heart. 'Okay… from now on, I'll go with the plan. No more of this attraction to Serenity Wheeler.' He thought confidently. But unfortunately for Mr. CEO Seto Kaiba—it was easier said than done.

* * *

"Hey Serenity! The phone's for you! Some guy called Seth." Joey called.

"Okay." Serenity didn't know anyone called Seth; although she had a pretty good idea on who it was. "Hello?"

"Serenity. It's me, Seto Kaiba."

She smiled. "Hi, Se-"

"Don't say my name! Your brother is there. Call me Seth."

"Okay. Um, so… why did you call?"

"I just wanted to ask you out for a concert tonight. Do you like jazz music?"

"Um… yeah, I like jazz. But I have to make sure Joey doesn't suspect anything."

"Okay. I'll meet you at the concert hall at around 6:00. The concert starts at 6:30."

"Okay… thanks for inviting me, Seth."

"No problem. Bye."

"Bye," she whispered as she heard the click.

* * *

**_Wheeler apartment, 4:30 P.M._**

Serenity Wheeler picked out one of her best dress. She was lucky that Joey was at Yugi's house. Somehow her midnight blue evening dress was quite loose. She had lost a bit of weight over the months.

She opened her wardrobe once more and her eyes flicked around the wide cabinet.

**Ding-Dong!**

'Oh no, it's the doorbell. I better hurry,' She answered the door a few moments later to find that it was her friend, Tea Gardner.

"Hi Serenity! I just want to leave something for Joey. Is he here?"

"No, he's at Yugi's house. Hey, listen, I need your help." Serenity told Tea urgently.

In no time, she filled Tea in on the details.

* * *

**_Kaiba Mansion, 4:30 P.M._**

Seto Kaiba picked out a midnight blue suit that he had just picked from his extensive suit wardrobe. With the usual jacket and occasional collar, he adjusted the new addition—a striped tie.

"Hey, Seto, what's—" Mokuba stopped dead on his tracks as he flung open the door to Mr. Seto Kaiba's bedroom.

"What. Are. You. Doing." Mokuba said, pausing after each word in his great shock. "Don't tell me you're going out on a date with a new girl!" The two Kaiba brothers had talked about their disagreement and they had apologized to one another.

"Oh, um. Yeah. I asked Ellie for a date tonight, to make up for the missed date," Kaiba fibbed quickly.

"Then why… are you so red?"

"Um… I didn't turn on the air conditioner, it's extremely hot," Seto said, flicking on the aircon quickly.

Mokuba looked suspiciously at his brother, but then he asked, "Need some help?"

"Yes!" Seto practically shouted.

* * *

**_Wheeler apartment, 4:45 P.M._**

"WHAT?"

"What do you mean, what?"

"You just said that you… you're going on a date with Seto Kaiba! Hello, Serenity, in case you haven't noticed, he's the head of Kaiba Corp.! And your brother doesn't even like him!"

"I'm aware of that, now will you please help me dress?"

"But… but…"

"But WHAT?"

"I just can't believe it."

"It's true, Tea, would I lie to you? Now come on, I really, really NEED YOUR HELP."

"Okay. I'll help you. But you have to tell me about your date!"

"Fine. But on one condition—don't tell anyone, especially Joey, about this."

"Sure. Come on or you'll be late!"

* * *

**_Domino Concert Hall, 6:20 P.M._**

Seto Kaiba checked his watch. It was 6:20 P.M., 10 minutes before the concert would start. He told Serenity to meet him at around 6:00, but it seemed that she was pretty late.

At 6:25 P.M., a taxi finally arrived in front of him. And out of it stepped Serenity Wheeler. Seto Kaiba gasped in utter surprise.

Serenity was totally gorgeous. The long auburn brown locks that were poker straight before were curling softly down her back from a loose barrette, and some slipped on her shoulders elegantly. The soft brown eyes that had seared into Seto Kaiba's cold heart were sparkling and bright. The dress she had chosen was of a soft silky blue garment.

"You look… beautiful." He couldn't help but compliment Serenity, and he wondered if he truly meant it.

She smiled and kissed him briskly on the cheek. "You don't look so bad, either." She teased, playing with the tie Mokuba had chosen for him.

"Nice tie," she commented.

"Thanks. Mokuba chose it for me." Seto said proudly.

"Oh yeah, how is he?"

"He's pretty much fine, considering that he's at home." Kaiba forced a smile. "Come on, let's get in."

* * *

The jazz concert lasted for 2 hours, and when Serenity Wheeler stepped out of the concert hall in the pouring rain, she was completely mesmerized.

"That last piece was totally beautiful," she said to Seto Kaiba. "Don't you think?"

"Yes. It indeed was beautiful. But I'm sure it's not as beautiful as you." Kaiba couldn't help saying as he studied his date. She was still stunningly beautiful. He called the chauffeur, who immediately responded and helped Seto and Serenity in the huge limousine.

"I have to admit, Seto, you're one really rich guy." Serenity teased.

Seto was tempted to reply, but instead he gave her a mysterious smile.

"Jenkins, to the Kaiba Mansion. Immediately." Seto ordered, and his command was obeyed instantly.

"But aren't you taking me home first?" Serenity protested.

"I was thinking that since the rain is pouring that I would like to invite you for dinner at the Kaiba Mansion. I would have thought that you didn't have your dinner yet." Kaiba smirked mysteriously.

Serenity smiled back. She loved surprises. "Thanks, Seto."

* * *

**Kaiba Mansion, 8:30 P.M.**

The moment the limousine arrived within the gates of the extensive Kaiba estate, Serenity gasped. "It's bigger than it was the last time I'd been in it," she said to Seto once they were inside.

"Yes. I know." Kaiba grinned. "It isn't as bad as the houses of the millionaires in Paris, is it?"

"No, of course not! You forget that I've been in it as a maid, haven't you?" She reminded him as they headed to the living room.

"Is Mokuba at home?" Kaiba inquired of the maid in the living room.

"No, sir. He went to his friend's house, sir." The maid answered briskly.

"Thank you. Will you please bring up two dinners for me and the lovely young lady over here?" He requested and the maid scrambled down the stairs immediately.

"You didn't have to exaggerate, you know." Serenity teased.

"Oh, but I wasn't exaggerating, Serenity." He said solemnly. He moved his hand until it made contact with hers, and held it until the maid came to present their dinner.

* * *

"That was a good dinner, Seto. Thanks. You know what, maybe next time I should invite you to dinner."

"No problem. That would be a good idea." He said distractedly.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." Then he gave Serenity a long, heart-searing kiss.

A kiss that, she was sure, would be in her heart forever.

* * *

**_The next day…_**

Mokuba yawned. He had gotten back from Yugi's house the night before and found his older brother already sleeping. He got up quickly, wanting to take an early morning jog.

Just then he met his friend, Carlo, who worked in the gasoline station. "Hey, Mokuba! What's up?"

"Nothing much, Carlo, just taking a jog. What about you?"

"Pumping up gasoline. But hey, I got something to tell you. I don't mean to be a gossip or anything, but I think I saw your brother with a really beautiful girl yesterday while I was taking Caroline out on a date." He whispered.

"Really? What happened?" Mokuba asked out of curiosity, remembering that he helped Seto pick out a suit and tie yesterday.

"They were both laughing and chattering and they went in the really big limo you have." Carlo answered, shrugging.

"Can you describe the girl?" Mokuba asked.

"Hmm… yeah. Tall, but a bit shorter than your brother, long brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a blue dress. That's all that I can remember."

"That's enough information. Thanks, Carlo. Owe you one." Mokuba said and waved goodbye to his friend.

That's when he started thinking. 'Who could that girl be? I know for certain that it isn't Ellie he was dating; Ellie doesn't have brown hair. She's a blonde, and has green eyes. That's weird. I don't think Seto should be cheating on Ellie. I think I have to talk to him about it when I get home.' He thought and without another word, he ran back to the Kaiba Mansion.

* * *

A/N: The fateful end of Chapter 7. Please review, thank you so very much… :) ChEeRfUL AnGeL57 


	8. Chapter VIII

**--Chapter 8-- **

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.

* * *

_**Kaiba Mansion, 10:00 A.M.**_

"Hello, Mokuba, I was wondering where you've been." Seto Kaiba was busy reading the newspaper as his younger brother walked in the room.

Mokuba sat down across the large mahogany table and ate his breakfast, still thinking about what Carlo told him.

"So I was thinking, Mokuba, that—"

"That you can go out with someone other than Ellie?" Mokuba completed for his brother, his temper rising.

Mokuba couldn't read the expression on his older brother's face, but he sure wasn't happy. "What do you mean, I'm not going out with Ellie? I asked her out for dinner a while ago!"

"Yeah right. I asked my friend. He saw you yesterday with a girl that doesn't have the description of Ellie." Mokuba paused for effect, determined to catch his brother in the act.

Finally Kaiba gave it up. "Fine, yes, I did go out with another girl. But it was just for one night. Just don't tell Ellie about this, please…"

"That's for me to decide."

"Come on, Mokuba. I'm going to marry Ellie, anyway. It doesn't matter that I went out with some other girl." Kaiba shrugged.

"Fine. But you have to be loyal to her. Okay?"

"Fine." Seto went back to his newspaper and Mokuba went back to eating breakfast.

"So… who's that girl anyway, Seto?"

"Oh. I just met her… I don't intend to get to know her more." Seto Kaiba declared, and he gulped down the last of his coffee. "I'm going to work. See you, Mokuba."

_**

* * *

**_

_**Kaiba Corporation, 11:15 A.M.**_

"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba. The business deals and agenda for today are all on your table, sir." His secretary greeted him.

"Very good. Send regards to Mr. Ikegami for me, Ms. Shimamura. Arigato." Seto Kaiba strode briskly to his office table and took a seat. For a while he sat drumming his fingers on the hard wood. Then he picked up the phone at the corner of the desk and dialed.

"_Hello?"_

Kaiba sighed with relief. "Thank goodness it's you who answered, Serenity. I was really worried about you—you didn't want my chauffeur to take you home."

"_No, it's okay. I was able to walk home safely, Set—oh I mean, Seth."_

"Okay. I'm glad about that. But…" he paused for a moment, and thought about what Mokuba discussed with him earlier this morning. He needed to get rid of Serenity quick before she caused any more trouble.

"Listen, can you meet me at this restaurant, later at 12:00 noon?"

"_Um, sure, thanks, Seth. That's really good of you."_

"No problem. I have to go now, bye." He hung up and resumed his work.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Fong Zhou Restaurant, Domino City, 12 noon.**_

"May I take your order?"

"Yeah. Um, teriyaki chicken for me, and a bit of plain gohan, and plain water. Thank you." Serenity dictated, putting down her menu as the waitress scribbled furiously on the order sheet.

"I'll take an order of tempura and fried rice. And some iced tea. That's all." Kaiba told the waitress, and she repeated everything the couple had ordered.

"So what did you want to talk to me about, Seto?" Serenity asked once they were alone.

"I'll tell you later. Now, I want to enjoy your company," he said firmly, and Serenity laughed.

After a bit of conversation that was interrupted by the arrival of the food, Kaiba got exactly where he was planning the conversation.

"Listen, Serenity." His voice changed sharply. "I don't like you. In that way. You know what I mean, don't you?"

Serenity was speechless for a while. "So… that means… that everything you've done for me was a fake?"

"Yes." He said forcefully. "I am engaged to Ellie Hiragamo; surely you know that?"

Her eyes sunk to the ground. "So it is true. I didn't believe the rumors in the first place…"

"Listen, I'm sorry, but when I saw you back at the party, I just got to know you. I didn't mean for it to go this far. But I just got a bit… carried away. I'm sorry." Kaiba almost bit back the apology back there, but what did he have to say, then? That he used her so that Mokuba wouldn't get hurt?

"It's okay. I-I understand." She said, her voice trembling slightly. Then she regained her composure once more and stood up. "I have to go. See you…" and without another word, she walked out of the restaurant.

* * *

_**Next day… Kaiba Mansion.**_

Seto Kaiba was once more buried in today's newspapers when his butler came to deliver his mail. "Letters for you, Mr. Kaiba."

He stretched, happy that he didn't have anything more to worry about. Serenity Wheeler was out of the way, and Mokuba was safe from all harm that she would have caused him. And he had successfully dumped her.

Taking the envelopes in his hands, he counted his letters for today. They all numbered to six. Five of them, he was sure, came from his business associates who couldn't get in touch with him through email. The sixth one was strange—he had never seen anything like it before.

So he set aside his business letters and focused on the small white envelope. Slowly he cut through the edge of the envelope and opened up the folded-up paper.

"_Dear Seto,_

_By the time you read this, I would be on the plane on the way to France. I will just tell you all the things that I want to say to you before I go, so I am writing all of these on a piece of paper._

_First of all… these past few days… even if it did mean anything to you, I was sure that I felt something. Something… that I've never felt in all my life. It was strange… yet I liked it. _

_And now you tell me that everything that went between us was nothing to you. I do understand, mainly about Ms. Ellie Hiragamo and all. _

_But I will only admit one thing—I was hurt when you said all of that to me. I don't want to shout or make a scene to embarrass you since you have a reputation to keep, and I respect that. Though I do hope that you will look forward to your life with Ms. Hiragamo, and that you will be happy. _

_Sincerely, Serenity Wheeler."_

Kaiba smirked. His plan had worked. But did he really feel satisfied that he had done this to an innocent girl? It didn't seem right to him.

Yet he had achieved his goal—Operation TBAG had succeeded.

* * *

Serenity Wheeler looked into the glass of the airplane window—she had gotten a window seat. She watched as Domino City faded away as the airplane lifted away from Japan.

She would miss Domino; she had always loved being there with the people who mattered to her. She certainly was happy there—but if she stayed there, she knew she had to face Seto Kaiba.

She couldn't bear that, for she knew that she had deep feelings for the CEO. It hurt to think that he had feelings for someone completely different.

Somehow, those past few days that she had spent with him was like paradise. Especially when he kissed her, she had felt that he totally meant it.

But thankfully in Paris… she would be able to escape from him. She forgave him for hurting her, because she had stayed up the whole night reflecting on the best thing to do.

She found the courage to write Joey, Seto and Tea letters to tell them where she had gone.

A tear escaped from her eye, and she allowed it to reach her cheek until she wiped it away.

Although, unfortunately for Serenity—she was running away from a love she was afraid to face. And she certainly didn't know that it would hurt her deeply—even more than the hurt that she had received.

Now we will leave Serenity Wheeler to her thoughts as she moves back to Paris; for she still dwelt on her thoughts about the love that she thought was not returned.

* * *

A/N: So how was that? I really lacked adjectives and explanations in here. Anyways, I hope you all like it. Take care to all, and please leave a review—I accept flames. 


	9. Chapter IX

**--Chapter 9--**

* * *

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.

A/N: Hi! I'm back… with another chapter! In the last chapter… it was like… "How could Kaiba do that to Serenity? That was so mean!" but he's remembered to stick to the plan this time and he forced himself to dump her. So… to continue with Chapter 9, where the drama continues…

But before that, here are some answers to those who have been reviewing, and to those I am most grateful:

**KatrinaKaiba and RoseGoddess874: **that was pretty sad, Kaiba dumping her like that. But he tried to do something for his brother, although it was pretty unfair to Serenity... :( Thanks for the reviews and here's the next update!

**Starwolf4: **yeah, it should really hurt if you're dumped by someone. so i guess Kaiba does deserve getting water thrown on him. Thanks for the review!

**svakee2000: **ok! glad that u think there's nothing wrong with the story... thanks for the review!

**yami and setos babe: **aw! That's so sad... :( i wonder why Tori thought that it was getting weird. Well, what my friend said sure is true: Getting dumped is worse than being told that a person doesn't like you, or something like that. 'Cause getting dumped really, really hurts (Especially since you are close to the person.) Although one day I think your friend Jesse has to face Tori, when he's ready, cos he can't hide from her forever... :( I hope they get to solve the problem. You know what, it's a good thing that I was able to finish this today... I still have to work on my other stories, too, but according to your request... I'm gonna post this, cos tomorrow I'm not going to be homeso I can't post up anything. So I hope you like this chapter, and thanks for the review!

* * *

**_Once again, the Kaiba Mansion, Domino City…_**

This chapter begins with the two Kaiba brothers as they sit down in the lounge, Seto typing on his laptop and Mokuba was reading a thick sci-fi novel.

It was Mokuba who started the conversation. "Hey, Seto… do you know what?"

"What?" The older Kaiba asked, annoyed that he was disturbed from his work.

"I have a new girl. I met her 3 days ago, and she's everything you would want in a girl." Mokuba said dreamily.

The older sibling was shocked from what he heard. Did that mean… that his efforts to get rid of Serenity were useless? He felt guilty that he had dumped Serenity days before. He had done it without thinking. Deep inside, it was just the instinct to protect his brother that made him dump Serenity.

"Who-who is she?" Seto asked his younger sibling incredulously, hoping that what Mokuba was saying was a joke.

"Her name is Vanessa." Mokuba smiled. "You know what, Seto, I thought I liked Serenity Wheeler… you know, the sister of Joey Wheeler… but it turns out that I just like her as a friend. Though I haven't seen her for quite a long time."

'_Of course you haven't,' _Kaiba thought, _'because she was busy spending time with me.'_

Deep inside, even though the older Kaiba brother didn't want to admit it, he had feelings for Serenity that was enough to make him clamor for her. He also resented the fact that Mokuba had gotten over Serenity and had chosen a different girl, while he couldn't move on.

'_This must be some sort of karma after I sent her away. What the hell was I thinking? I can't let go of her… how could I have missed all the signs? We were meant to be… but I blew it.' _He fingered the piece of paper that was tucked inside his pocket. That day, Seto Kaiba was deep in regret.

* * *

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to pick out the outfits, of course. Don't tell me you forgot, Seto." Ellie reminded him sternly.

"Oh… the engagement."

Seto Kaiba sighed. He wished that he would just be engaged to Serenity and not Ellie, because no matter how beautiful Ellie was, she could never replace Serenity.

"Ellie… what would you do… if I met someone else and I fell in love with her?" he asked his fiancée, veering close to the truth.

Ellie gave the matter some considerable thought. "Well… you would have to tell me, because I don't want to marry someone who's evidently in love with someone else." Ellie answered. Then she raised her eyebrow. "Why are you suddenly asking me this?" she asked suspiciously.

Kaiba shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I was just… thinking, that's all."

"Okay. Then don't think like that anymore, okay? I don't think it's going to happen between us, because we love each other." She leaned over to give him a kiss on the lips.

Kaiba nearly flinched. There were no sparks, no electricity and he couldn't feel anything at all except discomfort, unlike with Serenity.

Ellie pulled back from the kiss. "By the way, where were you these past few days? I haven't seen you." She said, her face creased with concern.

"Um… I just… visited an old friend. And I was pretty busy." He fibbed.

If Ellie had doubted his answer, she surely did not show it. The two didn't hold any conversation until they reached the outfits shop.

* * *

Mokuba Kaiba paced around his room. He thought vaguely about the past events. It was true that he hadn't seen Serenity Wheeler for days. But what would he care? He met someone he finally liked, and who liked him back: Vanessa Kimagura.

She was sweet, sensitive and beautiful just like Serenity. She was quite similar to the Wheeler sister. Mokuba reminisced on their first meeting.

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

"_Damn, I'm late," Mokuba swore, looking at his watch. He had needed to get to Yugi's house before 4:00 P.M. It was already 3:50 P.M., and he was running out of time._

'_Man! That line was really slow.' He thought. It was typical that the librarian, who had poor eyesight, was stuck with a long line of college students waiting to register the books they intended to borrow. Mokuba was one of those students, and he had to wait for a long time before he could check out his book. _

_Now he was running along the sidewalk. 'Thank goodness Yugi's house is close by.' He thought gratefully. The shop of Yugi's grandpa closed at 4:00 P.M. If he got there in time, he would still have time to look at the Mutou's Duel Monsters card collection. The Kaiba family owned an extensive collection of cards, too, but the Mutou's shop had many valuable cards in store._

"_Ouch!" He heard someone yell as both their bodies collided at the corner of the sidewalk. Both teenagers fell to the ground and Mokuba looked at the person he ran into._

_She was a dark-haired, beautiful girl who was probably 17, judging by her looks. Her curly locks flew past her shoulders, and sky-blue eyes stared back into his. Mokuba recovered from the transfixed moment and picked himself up, offering his hand to the girl. She took it and stood up, brushing dust off her skirt. _

"_I'm sorry for hitting you back there," Mokuba apologized. He felt very embarrassed in front of the other teenager._

"_Me too." She said quietly in a very sweet voice. "I'm Vanessa. What's your name?"_

"_Mokuba. Mokuba Kaiba." He introduced himself hurriedly._

"_Oh! Kaiba… as in the owner of Kaiba Corporation?" Vanessa asked, stunned by what she heard._

"_Yeah. That's my brother, Seto Kaiba. I'm his younger brother… unfortunately, still too young to handle the corporation. Although I think Seto's gonna pass it down to me someday." He smiled. _

_Vanessa laughed shortly and said, "Nice to meet you, Mokuba. Or should I say, Mr. Kaiba?"_

"_No, just call me Mokuba. Hey, listen, you want to come with me? I'm going to the Mutou's shop. They sell Duel Monsters cards there." Mokuba offered._

"_Sure."_

* * *

_End of flashback_

* * *

Mokuba sighed aloud at the thought of Vanessa.

He wondered where Serenity was now, and if she was okay. He hoped she was. _'Hey, wait a second… Carlo said that Seto was with a brown-haired girl with brown eyes, too. Maybe it's Serenity he was with! I don't think he's ever met someone with that description before…' _Mokuba realized but he didn't care anymore on whom his brother dated.

But in the meantime, Serenity was out of his life. It was now Vanessa who filled that empty space in his heart.

* * *

_**Seto Kaiba's bedroom, Kaiba Mansion, Domino City.**_

Ellie Hiragamo collapsed on the bed with the freshly washed Blue-Eyes White Dragon bed sheets. "That was tiring, Seto… come on over here." She beckoned to him, smiling.

Seto Kaiba followed his fiancée and dropped the shopping bag he was carrying on the floor. He joined Ellie and to his surprise, she locked him in a large hug.

"Seto, I missed you. You know that, don't you?" Ellie murmured, raining kisses on her fiancé's forehead gently.

Unfortunately for Kaiba, her kisses fell cold. He acted as if he didn't feel them. Which was half true for him.

"Listen, Ellie," he said, as soon as she had stopped kissing him, "I'm sorry. I can't get married with you."

He waited for the words to sink in. Ellie tried to respond to his statement after a few minutes of evident shock. But once she opened her mouth, he spoke again. "I know you're asking all these questions, like why do I want to do this and all that. But the truth is… I don't think that we're meant to be. You know, we're better off with someone else. Seriously."

"Are you saying this… because you found another girl?" Ellie asked, the hurt showing on her face.

Kaiba looked away. He chose to ignore her question. "You see, Ellie, to tell you the truth… I didn't know how this engagement started in the first place." He continued.

"You still didn't answer my question." Ellie murmured stubbornly. She was crying right now.

"Don't cry, Ellie, please. You're going to make this hard for me." Seto remarked, brushing off her tears. But she stopped him. "Don't, okay?" she practically whispered.

"I just want to tell you this… I know it's going to be hard for the both of us, but…" he paused. "…but I just don't love you." He was feeling guilty because now he was hurting Ellie.

"Will you tell me who you've fallen in love with?" Ellie said, after a few moments of tears.

"I feel sick, Ellie." Kaiba told her, ignoring her question once more. "I can't eat, sleep, and I feel so guilty." In another minute, he told his fiancée about the girl his love truly belonged to. Ellie stopped crying and actually considered what he was saying.

"You're in love with this girl, Seto. You can't deny it anymore. And it is painful for me… but I have to let you go." She burst into a fresh round of tears. "You love her, Seto…" she murmured as she buried her face in her hands.

Seto Kaiba was silent for a few moments. Was this true? Did he actually love Serenity? But if he did… why on earth did he send her away? This was all a big mistake.

Meanwhile Ellie was thinking, _'If only he knew how I felt… it truly hurts to love someone when that person doesn't love you back…' _

This continued on for a few more minutes, until Ellie had dried her tears. Kaiba was looking at the floor. "I'm so sorry, Ellie… I didn't mean for any of these to happen." He muttered.

"Don't worry, Seto, it's not your fault," Ellie said soothingly. "I understand how you feel. Just go… and pursue your dreams, wherever they may take you. Follow your heart…"

Kaiba sighed as Ellie picked up her purse. "Is it okay if you returned all of these? I'll be the one to tell everyone that our engagement is cancelled. If that's alright with you?" Ellie asked, blinking.

"Yes, it's alright. But… can we still be friends, Ellie?"

"Yes. We can." She softened. "I'm sorry, Seto. Just… love this girl, okay? Don't hurt her, if it's true that you do love her. Okay?"

"I promise." And without another word, Vince Hiragamo's daughter strode out of the room.

* * *

A/N: The sad ending of Chapter 9. Chapter 10 is coming up… Stay tuned and please review! 


	10. Chapter X

**--Chapter 10-- **

* * *

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.

* * *

Serenity Wheeler walked along the streets she had known since she had last been in it. She felt the warm breeze of Paris, France. The Eiffel Tower was up overhead, overlooking the capital of France.

The sight was indeed beautiful, especially while the sun was setting. Serenity admired the view and was thankful that she was in Paris.

A while ago she had received a message from Joey, her brother, asking her why she had suddenly made up her mind to go. But she hadn't replied to him all day. Joey was probably worried about her, but it wasn't his fault, she knew that. But she needed a sanctuary—something that her homeland, Japan, couldn't give. And it was here in Paris.

In Paris, she felt as free as a bird. No one was there to torment her or order her around. The scent of freedom was upon her. But she couldn't help thinking about the people she actually cared about, all of whom were presently in Japan.

One of them was Joey. It was self-explainable; her brother was one of the people dearest to her, since he took care of her and was always concerned about her. She appreciated that a lot.

The second was Tea, who had helped her with her date. She was especially grateful, since she was also Joey's friend and one of her own friends.

The third was Yugi and his friends, since they were also good friends to Joey.

Fourth came Mokuba, who was a caring friend at heart. She had also appreciated what he had done for her.

And the fifth one…

She couldn't bear to even think of his name, after he had actually betrayed her. No, she refused to accept the fact that she had cared about him.

Serenity sighed. It just wasn't in her attitude to forget how people treated her. She thought about that a lot, which was why she believed in the quote: "Don't do unto others what you don't want to be done to you."

She had indeed forgiven Kaiba, but was too proud to admit it to him. But how could she help but not forgive him? He was in her heart. Those days meant a lot to her, even if it wasn't a long time. It still meant a big part of her life. She wandered aimlessly to the hotel she was staying in.

"Ms. Wheeler? A Mr. Don Pierre here to see you." announced one of the hotel employees.

A tall, stocky man of about 21 entered the room and caught sight of the pretty girl who stood up to greet him. "Ah, Serenity! What brings you here to Paris once more? I thought you had gone to Japan for good?" the man said, holding out his arms to Serenity, who ran towards him and put her arms around him.

"Don! I'm so happy you're here." She told him. Then she pulled away from the friendly embrace. "I'm not going to live in Japan anymore. My heart belongs to Paris, Don." She told her friend.

"Ah, a likely excuse, Serenity," Don said mischievously. "I think there is a very different reason."

Serenity laughed. "You're right, Don… but sit down first and I'll tell you everything."

In a few minutes, she explained all that had happened in Japan, not exempting the parts about Seto Kaiba. She trusted Don Pierre. He was her best friend when they came to know each other in Paris. Until now they were pretty much inseparable. Though she knew she would never become more than friends with Don.

"So, Serenity, you're saying that you have feelings for this Seto Kaiba," Don said slowly. He thought deeply.

"Yes. Though I don't know why he doesn't want me in his life. That's the true reason why I came back to Paris."

"But, Serenity, you shouldn't use Paris as your escape hatch. It may be home for you, but you are using it to hide." Don told her. And Serenity thought that this was indeed true. She was afraid of facing Kaiba and telling her that she loved him.

"But… girls just don't do that. They just don't tell a guy that they love him, because the person may not like you back." Serenity argued.

"I know that. But haven't you ever thought about this? How does a boy know if a girl is indeed in love with him? We don't know that too, for sure. All we see is through your actions." Don waited for the words' meaning to sink in his friend. "When I met Sherri, I was not sure if she liked me or not. But we ended up in marriage, until now." He explained to her.

Serenity sighed. "Thanks for the advice, Don, but I really don't know what to do. If I go back to Japan, the thought of him would just torment me. And I don't want that. What's more, he doesn't know my feelings for him. All I told him was that I was hurt when he asked me to leave him." A tear escaped from her eye. "You don't know how that feels like, Don. It was like my heart cracked into two large pieces. I'm not sure if time could heal this wound." She confided in him.

Don put his arm around his best friend. "Now, now, Serenity," he started, "I do know how that feels like. I am in love myself. All you need to do is to be brave. You can go back to Japan and tell this Seto Kaiba that he is special to you. But not directly, of course. But let him see it in your eyes." Don wiped the tear away from her face.

But Serenity didn't have time to reply, because in the doorway stood the person she dreaded most.

"Can I please have some time alone with Serenity, monsieur?" the tall CEO asked of Don Pierre in his calmest voice. Once Don had exited, Serenity stared at the person she loved.

"Serenity." He breathed, coming closer to her.

"Seto… what are you doing here?"

"I—this is not a business trip… I came here to see you. I just want to say… I'm sorry for hurting you. I know I shouldn't have… but…" Seto explained everything to Serenity, most especially about Operation TBAG (Operation-take-brother-away-from-girl).

When he finished, Serenity was speechless. "Serenity, I give you the right to slap me right now. I've been such a jerk." Kaiba told her, lifting his gaze from the beautiful girl and looking at the floor.

Serenity stood up and came towards him, and to his surprise she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "It's okay, Seto. I forgive you for everything." She pulled back and tears were streaming freely down her cheeks.

"Don't cry, Serenity… I—I love you…" Seto was surprised that he got the words out. He wiped her tears away gently. Without warning he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her towards him, giving her a long kiss.

The sparks were there—the electricity and love was present too. And Seto Kaiba felt truly content when he heard the words that Serenity Wheeler had murmured. And those words were "I love you too."

And here ends a story of a rich, powerful man who had a sudden change of heart into a man who knew how to love, thanks to the girl he had fallen in love with—the girl who truly changed his feelings towards everything, and who taught him how to love.

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**The End…**

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A/N: Here ends the story, "Change of heart". I finished it at last! Although the ending sounds really… short. I'm not good at love scenes. Oh well! I guess I'll learn. Please review:) All kinds of reviews accepted. 


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